by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

With its 49-42 win Saturday against No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 1 Alabama moves on to bigger and better things, secure in the knowledge it must only hold serve to earn yet a shot at the program's third national championship in a row and fourth in five years. Texas A&M, on the other hand, will be playing from behind for the rest of the regular season â?? in the SEC West, in the SEC and in the championship race.

But all is not lost. In 2011, for example, Alabama survived a similar "big game" loss â?? losing to LSU in overtime â?? and went on to win the national title, upending the Tigers in the process. How have other teams responded to similar defeats during the must-see games of the last decade? Let's take a look:

- Michigan, 2006. The Wolverines dropped a tough one to rival Ohio State to end the 2006 regular season, losing out on a spot in the BCS title game, and had to sit and stew over the defeat leading into the postseason. Michigan would lose the Rose Bowl to USC and then start 0-2 in 2007, beginning with a memorable 34-32 home loss to Appalachian State.

- Alabama, 2011. How did the Crimson Tide rebound from a 9-6 overtime loss to LSU on Nov. 4, 2011? Alabama won four in a row to end the regular season, got some help and then overmatched the Tigers in New Orleans to secure another national title.

- Oklahoma, 2008. Texas won the battle, beating OU 45-35 in the annual Red River Rivalry; the Sooners won the war. OU would run the table and earn a spot in the BCS title game, thanks to the BCS tiebreaker, while the Longhorns would be relegated to the Fiesta Bowl.

- Notre Dame, 2005. A loss to USC didn't stop the Irish from making a run to the BCS, though a win could have â?? maybe â?? allowed the Irish to play for the national championship. Instead, Notre Dame would win five in a row after the 34-31 loss to the Trojans on Oct. 15, finishing 9-2 overall and earning a date with Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.

- Texas, 2006. The Longhorns, the defending national champions, would open the 2006 season with a win against North Texas before losing to No. 1 Ohio State on Sept. 9. Texas would win another eight games in a row before losing to Kansas State and Texas A&M to cap the regular season.

- LSU, 2009. LSU would start 5-0 in 2009 before losing at home to Florida on Oct. 10. The Tigers would never regain their form, losing games to Alabama and Mississippi in November and dropping the Capital One Bowl to Penn State.

- Stanford, 2011. Stanford was 9-0 before hosting Oregon on Nov. 12. Very quickly, the Cardinal were 9-1 and out of the Pac-12 hunt. But Stanford and first-year coach David Shaw would close 2-0, beating Notre Dame in the process, before losing to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl.

- Georgia, 2008. The Bulldogs had won 11 in a row dating back to the 2007 season, including the first four of 2008, and had eyes on taking home the program's second SEC title under coach Mark Richt. Alabama dominated, sending the Bulldogs into a tailspin: Georgia would go 6-2 during the rest of 2008, 8-5 in 2009 and 6-7 in 2010 before rediscovering its form in 2011.

Paul Myerberg, a national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports, is on Twitter @PaulMyerberg.